LeadMagnetGeniusBefore jumping into tools and pages, take a moment to plan. Ask yourself: - Who is my target customer? (Their needs, problems, demographics) - What is the end goal for them in this funnel? (Usually a purchase of a specific product or service) - What are the stages they would go through to get there?
A classic way to think of funnel stages is the AIDA model: - Awareness – They become aware of your brand or offer. - Interest – They show interest by engaging more (like reading a blog post, signing up for something). - Decision – They consider your product/service and decide whether to buy. - Action – They take the desired action (purchase).
Let’s put this in a simple example. Say you sell an online course on gardening: - Awareness: A person finds your gardening blog via Google or social media and reads a post. - Interest: At the end of the post, they see an offer for a free “Gardening 101 Cheat Sheet” (your lead magnet) and give their email to get it. Now they’ve entered your funnel as a lead. - Decision: Over the next week, they receive a few emails from you with tips (nurturing their interest) and one email introduces your paid online course, explaining the benefits and maybe sharing a testimonial. - Action: They click the link to your course sales page and sign up for the paid course. Voila – stranger to customer!
In that example, the funnel stages were: Content (blog) -> Lead Magnet Opt-in -> Email Sequence -> Sales Page -> Purchase. This is a very typical funnel for online business, often called a “lead magnet funnel” or “email funnel.”
Your funnel might look different depending on your business. For example, a funnel could be as straightforward as: Facebook Ad -> Product Landing Page -> Purchase (common in e-commerce for a low-priced item). Or it might be longer: Ad -> Webinar signup -> Webinar -> Sales call booking -> Phone call -> Sale (common in high-ticket consulting).
The key is to map out the steps before you start building. Know what path you want people to take: 1. Entry point: How do people discover you? (e.g., ads, content marketing, SEO, social media) 2. Lead capture: How will you get their contact info or get them to commit to the next step? (e.g., sign up for freebie, register for webinar, etc.) 3. Nurture phase: How will you build trust/interest after the initial opt-in? (e.g., emails, videos, free trial period) 4. Conversion point: What is the offer or event where you ask for the sale? (e.g., sales page, checkout page, sales call) 5. Follow-up: What happens after the sale or if they don’t buy immediately? (e.g., onboarding emails for new customers, or continued emails for non-buyers with another chance later)
Jot this down on paper or in a document. It doesn’t have to be fancy – even a bullet list or rough flowchart is fine. This will be your roadmap for the next steps.